These clips are from the last 10 minutes of the session. But even during that time, you can see how his body relaxes and his confidence grows.

It was a blast to work with these three and I hope I get another chance, soon! In many ways, it was easier than training a dog. You can see all kinds of motions in a horse body from a distance!

In many of the clips, you’ll see Laura stop, Levi stop, and Levi back up. This isn’t a fear behavior, but rather, a behavior Laura has trained Levi to do. If you’re a horse person, you’re probably familiar with that, but it was news to me! I just thought maybe we were working too close.

There has been a resurgence in citing “dominance” as a factor in dog behavior and dog-human relationships. This concept is based on outdated wolf studies that have long since been disproven. Contrary to popular belief, research studies of wolves in their natural habitat demonstrate that wolves are not dominated by an “alpha wolf” who is the most aggressive pack member. Rather, wolves operate with a social structure similar to a human family and depend on each other for mutual support to ensure the group’s survival.

Dogs are not wolves. The idea that dog behavior can be explained through the application of wolf behavior models is no more relevant than suggesting that chimpanzee behavior can be used to explain the intricacies of human behavior. While wolves and dogs share some similarities in behavior, there are many more significant differences. Dog training and behavior modification strategies that rely primarily on misinterpretations of wolf behavior are therefore irrelevant, ineffective and can lead to serious negative complications.

While dominance is a valid scientific concept, the term “dominance” itself is widely misunderstood, such as when it is used to describe the temperament of a particular dog. Dominance is not a personality trait but a description of a relationship between two or more animals and is related to which animal has access to valued resources such as food, mates, etc. It should not be used in any way to support the belief that dogs are out to “dominate” us, especially as that misunderstanding causes some people to respond with force and aggression. This only serves to create an adversarial relationship filled with miscommunication and even more misunderstanding. The unfortunate result is often anxiety, stress and fear in both dogs and humans towards each other. The use of techniques such as the “alpha roll” on dogs, which is based on these mistaken beliefs about dogs and wolves, has no place in modern dog training and behavior modification. Dogs often respond to this perceived threat with increased fear and aggression, which may serve to make a behavior problem worse and ruin the dog-owner relationship.

The APDT’s position is that physical or psychological intimidation hinders effective training and damages the relationship between humans and dogs. Dogs thrive in an environment that provides them with clear structure and communication regarding appropriate behaviors, and one in which their need for mental and physical stimulation is addressed. The APDT advocates training dogs with an emphasis on rewarding desired behaviors and discouraging undesirable behaviors using clear and consistent instructions and avoiding psychological and physical intimidation. Techniques that create a confrontational relationship between dogs and humans are outdated. Modern scientifically-based dog training should emphasize teamwork and a harmonious relationship between dogs and humans that fulfills both species’ needs. Most of all, it should be a fun and enjoyable experience for everyone involved.

The Association of Pet Dog Trainers encourages and supports continued trainer education in order to promote gentle, effective, fast, and fun ways to train dogs using the most up-to-date information and sound, scientifically-based methods.

For more information, please see related information on our Web site at apdt.com.

I originally bought a Thundershirt for Peanut’s stress in the car. It helped! I even tried doing a comparison with having it on and off on different trips. 3 times with the Thundershirt – no shaking any of those times. 3 times without – shaking every time. TTouch practioners have known the benefits of anxiety wraps for a long time. Thundershirt is an affordable, attractive way to wrap your dog and reduce stress. Check out this video:

It’s supposed to help with all kinds of other fearful behaviors, too. I haven’t tried the Thundershirt in those settings, but I do know Peanut was positively giddy in his Thundershirt at Green Lake last week. I also know that the concept is very sound, as TTouch practioners have been using wraps similar to the Thundershirt for a long time.

We also have an exciting visit from Patricia McConnell planned for September 12, 2010.

For more information, visit our trainer workshop page.

Want to talk about having a BAT seminar near you, up to 2 days long? Just contact me!

Here are the facts of the Boxer story, as told to me by Animal Control:

• There was a senior Boxer at the water with a small dog, and there was a scuffle with pit bull – type dogs. The owner was not bald, but had short hair. He did have tattoos.
• The scuffle seemed to be of the ‘normal’ type that dog park fans see a lot of, with a lot of bluster but no injuries.  I’m sure it was still scary for all involved, but dogs of all breeds do get into arguments and it sounds like this was nothing to be alarmed about.
• The Boxer was never taken to the vet, because there were no injuries.
• No report has been filed by the Boxer’s owner, and she probably wishes this would all just go away (I had heard from another source that her husband didn’t want the dog at the park in the first place). Therefore, animal control is no longer doing special patrols, just the regular ones.
• After weeks of the mystery owner being unidentified, Animal Control got her name and made a visit, 3 weeks after the events at Magnuson.  The Boxer had no signs of injury and the woman reported no injuries.

Given how much this story has been stretched, I feel like we have no real information on who started the scuffle (versus it being an unprovoked attack), among other things.

The Husky incident is being dealt with by the police, not Seattle Animal Control. I’m not sure why.  The Husky did get a broken leg. It may or not have been the same dogs who fought with the Husky as the previous week with the Boxer.

In any event, please stay safe if you’re headed to the dog park.  Things do happen, dogs are dogs, and we need to be ready to get our dogs out of fights, if need be.  Practice coming when called, keep moving, bring your cell phone but don’t use it, and always know where your dog is at.

• Alternate rewards for when your dog won’t take food
• Easy Riding – tips for calm, safe car rides
• Quick Crate Training Tips
• What to look for in buying treats
• Dancing with Dogs (hint: you don’t have to dance much, your dog is the star!
• Is your dog’s microchip useless?

I’ve been singing it a lot since I saw this video, although I have to admit, I keep making up my own silly lyrics and singing them to my dogs, like “I’m a Pea-nut, I’m a black-furred, black nosed Pea-nut.”

Don’t forget to support the artist! Click here to purchase the single on iTunes.

(Email subscribers, if you can’t see it in your email, do visit the blog. It’s worth it and not sad.)

October 2009 articles:

• Good Growling? 5 things to do when your dog growls at you
• Passing Fancy – How to teach your dog to calmly walk on-leash past other people, other dogs, bicyclists, skateboarders — you name it!
• Needing Pain Relief – acupuncture
• Do as I Say, Not as I Do – Even the best-informed owners can make mistakes with their dogs
• Positive Show-Offs – Clickers and treats work as well for training show dogs as they do for the family pet.
• Rally Obedient Dogs – Handlers can encourage and even reward their dogs in the show ring in this very fun sport, “rally obedience”

Order Whole Dog Journal from us online today!

Here are some highlights of that video:

• At 0:27, he actually does a nice look away and retreats, and I didn’t notice, because I was fussing with the camera. I called him back and we ’started’ our session, even though he was already starting without me. That’s the cool part about this method, that the dog can train himself after a while!
• 0:36, 0:37, 0:39 he sees the triggers and we push on because we’re not quite at his threshold – we’re working on head turns and this is still a very easy distance.
• 0:39, 0:46 I stop and he looks at me after only a tiny glance at the triggers (kids). I decide that’s not close enough, that he can handle more.
• 0:49 Looks away from trigger, 0:50 big nose lick. I miss this. Another casualty of filming and walking at the same time.  This would’ve been a good place to stop.
• 0:55, solid engagement with the kids, has enough time to look and see what they are up to, then turns to look at me. I mark with Good! and reward him by walking the other way with him, away from the kids. Note how fast he walks in that direction.
• 1:10 – some calming touch. Not necessary, but it’s what Peanut and I do.
• More aware of the kids now. I return to our same spot and do two more trials. During the walk-away on the 2nd trial, the kids follow us, and you’ll see him look back. I like trials 2 and 3 better than trial 1, because it seemed more directed at the environment, rather than an escape into mom’s eyes. I’m more than happy to be his anchor, I’m just glad when he doesn’t need it.

The second video is the use of the Premack Principle to practice heeling. Remember, BAT is not just for aggression & fear, but also for other problem behaviors maintained by the environment, like pulling. The point is to set the dog up to succeed, then reward with what they most want in the moment.

The Premack Principle states that the opportunity to perform a high probability behavior will reinforce the performance of a low-probability behavior. One way to think of that is that if your dog gets freedom to act like a dog as a reward for listening to you, you’ll get a better-trained dog (it’s broader than that, but it’s a good way to think of it). In the video, I have Peanut heel and he can chew his stick as a reward. I do this because he used to pull whenever he had a toy in is mouth, because he’d want to go enjoy it. Now he’ll trot along, waiting for permission to go chew.

This is now already a trained behavior, so I had him come with me and walk. But visualize smaller steps, like just coming with me as a rewardable behavior. In our real life, he can go quite a ways before I release him to go chew.

From the Off Leash Area – Edmonds newsletter:

October 20th is the 3rd annual Halloween Howl from 11 am to 3 pm. There will be three best dog costume categories based on height requirements and one category for best costume of dog and handler! Costume judging starts at 2:00 pm, so don’t be late.

We will have a reduced-fee micro-chipping clinic ($25 cash) provided by Dr. G. of Helping Hands Veterinary Clinic. There will be raffles with wonderful prizes and a silent auction. Local businesses displaying their pet-friendly products and services will also be there to answer any and all of your questions.

Check the O.L.A.E. website and look under archives to view pictures of the last two
years’ costume contest winners. You don’t want to miss the fun! Let’s start thinking sunny thoughts for that day!

* 498 Admiral Way: Follow Edmonds Ferry Signs and turn west on Dayton St. and proceed to Admiral Way. Turn South on Admiral Way and go to the end. We are south of Marina Beach.

The Seattle positive dog trainers group had a meeting yesterday. It was the first time we’d met in about a year and I was going to see some people I hadn’t seen for even longer. It was at a home in the country, so we could all bring our dogs. Yay!

I love going places with my dog, especially now that he can handle it, most of the time. But sometimes, he can’t. I know he has these limitations, for now, because I haven’t done the work I need to make him more comfortable with, say, small children. He came to me, as a puppy, with a fear of just about everything, from dogs to kids to adults, wheeled things, etc. As I’ve mentioned before, he’s able to be a therapy dog and loves going to meet his fan club at the assisted living facility we go to.

But, and this is important, he’s not fine in all situations, and as his human with the schedule and the car keys, it’s up to me to make sure my dog is kept within his comfort zone until I can make that zone bigger through training.

So I look at the guest list the day before and it has something like 15 people and almost as many dogs. That would be ok. A little stressful, maybe a few high pitch barks at the beginning, and he’d be fine, especially since it could be outside. But read on, Grisha, before you commit your dog. 3 little people were also coming. And we might end up indoors, if the weather didn’t cooperate.

I blithely assumed they would be babes in arms, without actually reading further. Since the appearance of a toddler in a confined space is like a small nuclear bomb to Peanut, you’d think I would’ve paid attention. He doesn’t bite them, or even air snap or growl, but he does bark to wake the dead.

But I was selfish. For ME, I wanted my soulmate dog there, both as social support and to show how much progress he’d made, to my friends who hadn’t seen him for a while.

So we showed up and he did relatively fine, just shy, not completely out of his head, and it was looking like a good learning experience as everyone settled down, even though it turned out we were staying inside, not out in a wide-open space. He just ignored the two tiny babies. But what to his wondering eyes should appear but a (very sweet, calm) young girl. That would’ve been fine if he could play fetch with her, but that wasn’t possible in the house, with all of those dogs!

She did her best to help him stay comfortable, but to no avail, since he was what dog trainers call, “way over threshold.” I’d set him up to fail, and Surprise! He did. So instead of putting him just to the edge of his comfort zone and either doing counterconditioning or BAT, I was in ‘management mode’ and just did my best to keep him quiet.

That’s actually shooting myself in the foot, because a lot of what I do to shush him is probably teaching him that barking is good (like me paying attention to him each time he barked and telling him to Leave It – cues are reinforcers!).  Some folks might shush their dogs by yelling or popping on a leash. That doesn’t teach him that barking is good, but it DOES teach them that there’s something to fear in the situation. So it’s lose/lose once you put a dog into a situation that’s too hard.  At that point, I would’ve told my clients to put the dog away, say back in the (not hot) car, ignore the social group and do the relaxation protocol with their dog (click/treat for relaxation) or even leave. But my selfish needs got in the way again, and we stayed, where I could neither train nor really manage him well. I *was* smart enough to mostly stay in the other room where there was no child, and keep him on leash when she was around, but really, that was a Band-Aid, and too little, too late.

Dog fears pile up on top of each other, so that if a dog is a little afraid of X and a little afraid of Y, then X+Y is twice as stressful.  That’s why we hear people saying, “but she’s never done this before!” when their dog gets in a fight or bites the neighbor. Alone, seeing a dog at her house was not scary enough to get a growl, and neither was the appearance of the vacuum cleaner.  But if you put both together, her stress level is higher.  So for Peanut, I had lots of people (now minimally scary), plus lots of dogs (scarier), and a toddler (also scary).  That’s what I mean by setting a dog up to fail. In a real training setting, we’d have just the one new scary thing, like a toddler, plus lots of distance to make it easier, and a training plan to rehabilitate his fears.

Why am I telling you this story? In the hopes that you’ll avoid my mistakes!

All of us are human and have our own needs. The dog has needs, too, and we really need to take them into consideration before we put them in over their heads. It’s a good reminder for me, and something I hope you’ll think about, too. Think about this story and your dog’s needs the next time you:

• Go to a festival, pet store, or party.
• Foster, adopt, or board another dog.
• Have company over, especially if they have dogs or kids.
• Play loud music or get into a loud fight.
• Go on a trip and bring/leave your dog.
• Think about going to the dog park or place where your dog might encounter off leash dogs.
• Tell your dog to go say hi to someone s/he doesn’t want to meet.

Some dogs will be fine with those things. Some dogs won’t.  Just remember your dog’s boundaries, help train tolerance and joy to stretch those boundaries, but also keep your dog feeling safe!

Note to self: Read this post again next time I want to bring Peanut to a party or a dog festival!

p.s. I *was* happy to see that, in spite of this stressful situation, Peanut greeted the adult humans calmly, often with a ‘please pet me’ attitude, something I never thought possible for him. We are so close!

While still scary for the person and dog involved, I’m sure, this incident also pales in comparison to the attacks in Magnuson Dog Park. Furthermore, while the people were jerks to the human, they did seem to (at least somewhat) help break up the fights. I’ve considered taking it down, but I’m leaving it here in case you might think you’ve got nothing to worry about if you just avoid Magnuson Dog Park, although it sounds like there was more to fear in Edmonds from the humans than the dogs.

And it could still be the same people, with different dogs. That’s my hope, so that the police can nab them!
[/End of UPDATE]

I’m copying a report of the incident below verbatim (though I couldn’t help but correct some typos.

**********
My name is XXXX and I am a veterinary technician currently working at XXXX (I deleted it for privacy, even though I was told we could post this). On Wednesday October 7th, 2009, my dog was attacked three times by pits matching the description of those who recently killed and severely injured a dog at Magnuson Park.

I was at the Edmonds Dog Beach at about 3pm with my sister, dog Maddie (GShep mix, 1yo, 75lbs) and Luke (Husky, 4yo, 80lbs). We were playing in the water when a red pit (approx 60lbs) and a black Staffordshire terrier (approx 40lbs) approached us. They started playing a little aggressively (which says a lot for Maddie) and were called off by the owners. Later, the black one came up again. The black one, “Junior,” was playing with Maddie a bit too aggressively, and when the red saw this, he bolted over (knocking me over) and began the attack. The two ganged up on Maddie, biting at her hocks and throat. I tried to pull them off but could only pull one off at a time, and after about a minute, the owner came over and pulled them off. He returned to his girlfriend, and they began laughing about how I got knocked over when Junior chased Maddie down the beach. I continued to watch for other incidents, but did not call police. Before we left, Approx 4pm, I approached the couple and told them “It doesn’t bother me that this happened, but there are other people who will call the police so please watch for aggressive behavior.”

The female ( About 5′6″, 190+ lbs, late twenties/early thirties) proceeded to get in my face and scream about how, since her animals were neutered, they were good owners and that I should call the police. The male (About 5′8″, 200lbs, mid/early thirties) stood behind her. At this point in time, my sister walked over and began telling her to back off, and she continues to get in my sister’s face, screaming obscenities and threatening to call the police. During this, the red pit for the third time attacked Maddie, and the male grabbed him and drug him back. After five minutes of heated conversation (with yelling and screaming), my sister and I walked away, taking our dogs and heading toward the exit.

We got into the car and drove to the other side of the parking lot, watching them walk to their car. They kept walking, and I drove away. I stopped just past the closest dry dock area, backed into a parking spot, and waited about five minutes. The couple drove by, and I began driving out of the parking lot. Twice, the female attempted to pull into the parking lot, and the third time she tried to block the exit. I drove past, wrote down the plate, and drove away quickly.

Related post: attacks in Magnuson Dog Park

I write this to you, as well as law enforcement, for your records. As of now, I have not decided whether or not to press charges, but the plate number has been passed on to law enforcement.

Thanks for reading (I get into the details) and best of luck. My sincere condolences to the families of attacked animals.

Two people appear to be *encouraging* their dogs to fight and kill at the dog park recently. The incidents were at Magnuson Park in Seattle. Three dogs were attacked in two incidents. A Boxer named Gidget was killed and a terrier and a husky were severely injured. The Boxer was killed on 9/25 and the perpetrators came back again on 10/2. Both attacks were on Fridays around noon.

It’s always good to be careful. The January before last, a Westie was killed by two labradoodles. A trainer once wrote that, “dog parks are like a party where everyone’s drunk and no one knows each other: it could be very good, or very bad.” And this summer, Isaiah Kalebu, suspect in a brutal rape/murder this summer, was picked up at Magnuson with his dog. It’s good to be careful at the dog park or avoid it altogether.

Please report anything of concern to King County Animal Control (206-296-PETS [7387]). The Magnuson Park main number is (206) 684-4946. I imagine you’d get a faster answer by calling 911, but I don’t know if this is in their jurisdiction.

As reported in an email from ShoreDog (Shoreline dog park association, who say they got it from friends at Magnuson):

****
DESCRIPTION: White Male early 20’s heavily tattooed arms, shaved head with White Female – early 20’s med to heavy build long brown hair
DOGS: 3 pit bulls 1 white or gray, 1 brindle, 1 10month old brown VEHICLE: very old silver pick up truck with damage to the right rear.
*******
Note that many people report that a dog is a pit bull whenever there’s a dog attack, regardless of what the breed actually is. So these could actually not be pit bulls at all, but probably are some sort of mixes.

What to do if you do go to the dog park, especially Magnuson Park in Seattle:

- Bring your cell phone, but don’t talk on it or text as you walk along, as you’ll want to be aware of your environment. That way, you can call for help quickly and take pictures.

- Stay around other people and dogs so that if something happens, there are witnesses and people to help. Don’t just stand around chatting, though, that can be hard on the dogs.

- Take a picture and report these people if you see them. Don’t assume that a pit bull at the park must be a fighter, as there are lots of good pit bulls. That said, if you do have a bully breed, you might want to stay clear of the park for a bit, so that a) this guy will stand out and 2) you don’t have to put up with people thinking your dog is bad because of his/her breed.

- Bring Spray Shield! It’s a citronella spray that breaks up dog fights. I never go to places where with off leash dogs without it. I have broken up 4 fights with it, where the dogs were actually biting and holding on.

- In general, avoid dogs with stiff body posture. In happy/friendly dogs, the joints should be moving and loose.

- Keep your dog on leash for walks. It’s not 100% related, but I had to throw this in, since people might be going less to the dog park and instead having their dogs off leash on regular walks. If you do walk off leash, call your dog and leash him/her up whenever you see other people or dogs.

- Know where the nearest vet / emergency vet are and put their phone numbers/addresses into your cell phone. For Magnuson Park, here are close vets:
* Hawthorne Hills Vet, 4020 NE 55th St, Seattle. 206-528-1980
* Northeast Veterinary Hospital, 9505 35th Ave NE, Seattle. 206-523-1900
* Ravenna Hospital is also fairly close: 4541 Union Bay Pl NE, 206-522-2114

The closest Emergency Vet to Magnuson Dog Park is Animal Critical Care on Lake City Way. 11536 Lake City Way, Seattle 206-364-1660. (open 24 hours)

The only other emergency vet in Seattle (I think) is Emerald City Emergency Clinic, 4102 Stone Way North, 206-634-9000. (open 24 hours)

Big attacks like this are rare, but I see dog fights a lot at parks. Personally, I’d be happy to pay to enter a dog park that had supervision, maybe required a swiper card to get in, and you could only get that swiper card if the owner had attended some workshop on dogs and the card could be revoked if the dogs behaved aggressively.

If you want to just have a play date with your dog, you might think about looking at our free dog play classifieds. It’s a great way to find a walking buddy or a wrestling pal.

Related Post: Dog Park Safety tips

Related Books:

* Off Leash Dog Play (Great new book, has excellent info on body language, safety, and training.)

* Dog Parks: Having Fun, Playing Safe.

News Stories:

KOMO here and here

FOX: here

One thing I should mention is that the other dog is kitty-corner across the street, about 40-50 feet away from our first approach distance, maybe a bit more.

After a long break, we are doing her third session today, so stay tuned for video!

Click here to join CaterpillarDogs, a discussion group and creative space for people interested in BAT and related methods for aggression, fear, and other dog issues.

There are lots of different ways to do BAT, but the main idea is to use what the dog is already working for to pay for a new behavior.

In this case, the dog would bark/lunge at other dogs she doesn’t know in order to increase the distance between her and the other dog. So we do the session far enough away that she can be calmer* and we use ‘permission to walk away’ as the treat for soft eyes, blinks, head turns, etc. We mostly focus on head turns for this session, as that is a nice default behavior.

When you are doing BAT for fear or aggression, you can either change the stimulus (how close is the other dog, what are they doing, etc.) or you can change your behavioral criteria (what the dog needs to do before you reward).

If you are at the edge of your dog’s comfort zone, don’t make both of those harder at the same time. For this session, we pretty much took the same behavior each time (on the continuum of looking away) and changed only the stimulus (approached closer and closer to the other dog, had other dog move or not move).

We will still need to work toward variety in another session, so that if Cassie does a head turn and it doesn’t make the other dog go away, she will have other tricks up her doggie sleeve.

*Keep in mind, some dogs need to start really far away, so that the other dog is just a speck on the horizon. Starting too far and quickly moving the approach line forward is better than starting out too close.

*************

Session Transcript

Set-up is that the decoy dog is kitty-corner on public street (across the street, opposite corner, 50+ feet away from the ‘client’ dog. There are two handlers (Lori Stevens and Adriane Villanueva) and a camera person (Grisha Stewart). All three are professional dog trainers. Lori and Cassie are the ‘clients’ and Adriane is handling her dog, Penny, as the decoy.

The session was about 35 minutes. This is an edited version of the session. I no longer have the raw footage, so I will just call these trials 1-20 rather than what they really are, a sample of 15 of the the 60 (or so) trials.

In the initial set-up, Cassie had a double-ended leash attached to a harness in the rear and a Gentle Leader in the front. We changed this after it began to feel like the head collar was not giving Cassie enough freedom of movement (and it was distracting her).

The primary alternative behavior we rewarded during this session was a head turn, and most of them were toward the handler. In session 2, we began pushing for different behaviors, but we were working on getting one solid behavior down first, so we didn’t ignore head turns in an attempt to get variety during this session.

Both dogs approaching mark, Cassie leaving as reward. When leaving, Cassie was cued verbally to walk away, sometimes guided by the leash. The ideal is that the retreat is verbally/visually cued.

Trial 1: Alternate behavior rewarded: head turn away from decoy toward handler (0:13). She also opted for a sit when Lori stopped. Slight prompting from Lori as she leaned away from Cassie after they stopped.

Trial 2: Alternate behavior: head turn toward Lori, offered after long look at Penny while walking toward mark (0:32). Just before the head turn toward the handler, at 0:31, there was also a look away to the other side. That could have been rewarded instead.

Trial 3: Alternate behavior: head turn away from decoy toward handler (0:49). On this trial, Lori waited until we were back at the mark, just praising some other good head turns without retreating. If we always took the first rewardable behavior, we’d never make it to the mark! Not rewarding every acceptable alternative behavior also helps make this good behavior harder to extinguish later.

(We started making the break between trials a little longer. Cassie likes to move and is a hard worker, so if we wanted a longer break, we could also do something during those, like tricks or other training.)

Trial 4: Alternate behavior: head turn away from decoy toward handler (1:24). Tail was a bit higher for this trial. Head turn was prompted by Lori very lightly touching her finger to the leash, just a tiny flutter to help keep Cassie from ‘going limbic’.

(We took a slightly longer break and decided not to go as far forward the next round, to make success more likely. We were just getting started, so that mark was probably too close to the decoy).

Trial 5: Half-way to old mark. Alternate behavior: head turn away from decoy toward handler (2:02). By the time they left, Cassie’s head had turned back, so she did feel the Gentle Leader guiding her away. Ideally she wouldn’t feel any leash on the retreat, but that was just a little timing issue.

Trial 6: Alternate behavior: head turn away from decoy (2:34). On the approach, there was also ground sniffing that we could have rewarded

Trial 7: Alternate behavior: head turn away from decoy toward handler (2:57).

(time gap and then decoy was moved to same side of street, across the intersection)

Trial 8: Alternate behavior: head turn away from decoy (3:03)

Trial 9: Alternate behavior: head turn away from decoy (3;17)

(Time gap – more trials and gear was switched to harness only with both front and rear attachment)

Trial 10: Alternate behavior: head turn away from decoy toward handler (3:33)

Trial 11: Alternate behavior: head turn away from decoy toward handler (3:51)

(time gap – Penny moved to same side of street, no longer moving)

Trial 12: Alternate behavior: head turn away from decoy toward handler (4:04). Penny barked an Aussie hello at Cassie and she barked back. She was not super-aroused, so Lori waited for an acceptable behavior before leaving.

(We got another bark after a few more trials, so we mixed things up by adding click/treat plus retreat. The barking seemed like frustration rather than aggression. The click/treat/retreat bit was much easier and more familiar to Cassie. We could also just have increased our distance again, or worked in between trials. We clicked, retreated, then treated on the retreat. That way, the retreat stood out.

Trial 13: Alternate behavior: ground sniff on approach (4:41).

(time gap)

Trial 14: Alternate behavior: head turn away from decoy toward handler (4:54). As they retreated, Cassie began to bark at Penny, but handler correctly continued retreating. (Penny had just seen a cat and was stiff during that trial.)

Trial 13: Half-way to mark. Alternate behavior: ground sniff on approach (5:06)

Trial 14: Alternate behavior: head turn away from decoy toward handler (5:20)

Trial 15: Alternate behavior: several head turns away from decoy toward handler (5:44). Actual click ended up being a look at the decoy, better would’ve been for a look away.

If you pay attention, you can figure it out anyway. Those things that you call ‘distractions’ are actually powerful training rewards. Here are some things your dog may already be doing:

He works to get to the squirrel in the tree ahead. (by pulling on leash)

• He works to chase the mailman off. (by barking)
• He works to get away from those scary people. (by lunging at them)
• He works to get to those people he loves. (more pulling)
• He works to get you to notice him. (by jumping up)

Your dog isn’t dumb. He knows what he wants and he knows how to get it. He wouldn’t do it for long, if it didn’t work. Unfortunately, the ways that are working for him right now are annoying to you.

Enter BAT – Behavior Adjustment Training. I think we can all agree that if our dogs suddenly adjusted their behavior in the above scenerios, we’d be thrilled. For example:

• He works to get to the squirrel in the tree ahead. (by looking adoringly up at you and trotting along on a loose leash)
• He works to chase the mailman off. (by going to lie down on his bed)
• He works to get away from those scary people. (by turning his back on them)
• He works to get to those people he loves. (more lovely walking)
• He works to get you to notice him. (by sitting at your feet)

Awesome, huh?

At some point in his life, he tried a whole variety of things to get what he wanted, and he stuck with the behaviors that worked the best.

To adjust the behavior, to replace it with something better, we can’t just put him in the full-blown scenario of having the mailman arrive. He knows barking should work to get rid of the intruder, and he will try it until he exhausts himself. That is stressful and a waste of time.

Let’s call the situation that sets your dog off a ‘trigger.’ A fancier word is an ‘antecedent.’ In the above set of behaviors, possible triggers would be:

• Dog sees or smells a squirrel
• Dog hears mailman on the porch
• Unknown person approaches, looking at the dog
• Known person approaches, looking at the dog (funny how that’s almost the same as the above, right?)
• You turn the key

So let’s go back to the scenario of greeting a stranger. We can’t just have the stranger come over to pet the dog. That trigger is too sensitive. So you set it up so they are 30 feet away, or 100, or whatever it takes for the dog to look and say, ‘no big deal, I can just turn my head and pretend they’re not there.’ The next more exciting trigger is the person from 25 feet away, or the person at 30 feet talking, or the person at 30 feet reaching toward the dog. Gradually, though, you morph the trigger into the real deal. You never want to push the dog into being overly stressed, and if you see it starting to happen, distract your dog and get out of there. Don’t give a leash correction or yell at your dog. This is your mistake.

If we could adjust the behavior to whatever you wanted, what would it look like? Be specific, not just ‘I want a good dog,’ but behaviors, like sniffing the ground, turning his head, leaning in for a scratch, blinking calmly, etc.

Now it’s simply a matter of:

1. Giving the dog a small version of the trigger
2. (Stopping and rethinking if your dog messes up)
3. Waiting for a good response
4. Giving the dog what he wants.

In our example above, that could look like:

1. Owner and dog walk 15 feet toward a cooperative ’stranger’.
2. (calling the dog and going 30 feet away if you get barking).
3. Dog blinks, sniffs the ground, or otherwise relaxes or looks friendly.
4. Walk back to where you started, or have the stranger walk away.

In this case creating distance between themselves and the Scary Monster is the reward.

With a squirrel and a pulling dog, it might be:

1. Mom stands with a stuffed toy at the end of the block.
2. (Stop or turn the dog away from the toy if she pulls hard).
3. Dog looks at you or remains close enough to you to not pull.
4. You walk toward Mom and the stuffed toy.

Eventually, you can do this with a bouncing tennis ball or a squirrel in a tree, but start smaller so that your dog has a higher chance of success. More successes = more learning, because dogs learn more from success than failure. Staying well below you dog’s Freakout Threshold is extremely critical if you are using BAT for aggression and/or fear. When in doubt, happily distract your dog and walk away to regroup.

The greatest part of all of this is that it’s easy to maintain the training once you’re done. With the mailman, in fact, you don’t have to lift a finger, because the mailman always leaves. Your dog never has to learn that it’s not his calm behavior that’s making him go!

We’re constantly asking dogs to do what we want them to do, and expect them to work for whatever we give them, like attention, petting, food, or toys. Those things are great, and I use them all the time, especially in classes. They are also great for pre-training the dog on the skills they need before you switch to doing BAT, or even together with BAT.

But to permanently stop your dog from being annoying or scary, notice what they get out of doing it, and use the reward they are already working for to pay for good behavior.< \strong> otherwise, we are just using second-rate rewards. If they scratch your back, it’s only fair if you scratch theirs.

Click here for a dog-geeker description of BAT, CAT, and the Premack Principle.

This post will contrast CAT and BAT, to give you a good idea of how they are different.

Constructional Aggression Treatment (CAT) is a method that uses distance/relief as the reward for non-aggressive, even friendly, behavior. BAT also uses distance/relief as a reward, but it has some key differences with CAT.

While I like the idea of CAT, watching CAT done at a seminar, on the DVDs, and on YouTube, I’ve come to believe that CAT as Jesús Rosales-Ruiz and Kellie Snider have envisioned it (or at least the way they are practicing it) is too hard on the dogs, and can be made more efficient. It’s a great start, it just needs to be tweaked a bit to make it more feasible for me to do. There are lots of other excellent trainers out there doing CAT with horses and dogs and I think many of them are striving for the same thing I am – truly sub-threshold training.

1. The dog is never allowed to remain over threshold with BAT. In both BAT and CAT, if the dog is over threshold, it’s considered a mistake. However, with BAT, the dog is allowed to calm down as soon as the training team notices the arousal increasing, by distracting the dog and/or removing the stimulus. CAT attempts to extinguish aggressive displays by waiting for the dog to offer an alternate behavior. At this point, CAT is basically flooding.

2. With BAT, the dog should be allowed full freedom of movement away from the fear- or aggression-triggering stimulus (other dog, person, etc.), rather than being tethered to a stationary object. With CAT, the dog is usually tethered (at least in the more ‘official’ versions of the protocol. That’s changing.

3. BAT can be very fluid and combined with other methods for behavior modification or training, including Control Unleashed, TTouch, and counter-conditioning/desensitization.

4. BAT is more than just a protocol for aggression or fear. Behavior Adjustment Training is an umbrella term for protocols that use environmental rewards (fun activities, relief from social pressure, preferred activities, etc.). As long as you do it in a way that does not provoke undue stress and you step in to rescue the dog from flooding, the actual protocol is up to you. The way some people do CAT actually makes it Behavior Adjustment Training, but the way CAT is practiced in the current DVDs makes it not BAT, because of the stress caused by the flooding aspect (see number 1 above) and tethering (see number 2).

Read our other blog post on BAT to see what it is and to see one way we use BAT for aggression.

When using BAT for aggression, if the dog’s arousal level starts to rise, you interrupt and help the dog make a ‘better’ choice. Is it rewarding to stop the session when the dog is starting to feel stressed or is even already barking? Probably, but I think that drawback is far outweighed by the benefit of having more successful trials. If you see it coming and interrupt early, there is little or no danger of rewarding the lunge/barking. It may actually be helpful to prompt the dog to turn away, to help them get in the right pattern. But more importantly, we should set up the situation so the dog is very likely to be successful on his/her own.

Knowing that you might be rewarding the barking also encourages practitioners to set up the situation carefully enough that they don’t get outbursts. Setting such a situation up is the key to Behavior Adjustment Training.

Feedback? Thoughts? Please leave a comment!

There will be a fun gathering of dog folks at Ballard Commons on August 23rd. They’ve asked me to sponsor them, so there are three $50 Ahimsa Dog Training gift certificates to be had for their contest.

It’s not a commercial event – no tents, no booths, no microphones, just a gathering of dog folks and some contests with prizes. It’s a good place to go after the Sunday market in Ballard. It’s sponsored by the Seattle Parks Department as a non-commercial event.

Click here for directions to Ballard commons.

I’m hoping to come by after classes. It could be big, could be small, but either way, it looks like a great way for you to meet your neighbors and their dogs!

More official info from the Dog Days website:

Dog Day of Ballard
August 23, 3:00pm
Ballard has gone to the Dogs! “Dog Day of Ballard”

Sunday, August 23rd 3-5 PM, Ballard Commons Park
“Dog Day of Ballard” is a free, family-friendly event open to all Ballard residents and their dogs. There is no entry fee, and it is open to all dogs, all sizes, shapes, ages and breeds. There will be lots of prizes for many categories, including oldest dog, youngest dog, biggest puppy, most exotic dog, best smile, pretties eyes, cutest retriever, cutest working breed, most adorable “mutt”, longest tail, biggest paws, longest wiener dog, softest dog, goofiest dog, biggst ears, best matching pair, etc. Although there is no real “swimsuit or talent” portion of the competition, there will be a categtory for “best trick” and “best dressed.” All dogs must be on leashes, and must live within the 98117 and 98107 zip codes.

Co-sponsored by the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation. Sponsors include: Ahimsa Dog Training, Bark, All The Best Pets, Ballard Home Comforts, Julie Albright, Ryther Center, Romanza, Classic Consignment, Johnny’s Shoe Repair and more. For more information, or to donate a prize, contact the organizer, Julie Albright, at juliepa@blarg.net.